Carrier for pneumatic dispatch systems



Dm. 20% H949 W. F'. GROVER CARRIER FOR I NEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEMS FiledApril 19, 1946 JNVENTOR. Wes/e /r' Gro ver ATTRNEYS Patented en.. 20,i949 This invention relates to a carrier for a pneumatic dispatch systemand more particularly to a carrier for charge sales items.

In large department stores, for example, it is customary for the salesgirl to place the charge slip in a pneumatic carrier which is thendispatched 'through a pipe line to a sorting desir. At the sorting deskthe girl will open up each carrier, ascertain the initial of the surnameoi' the erson making the charge, reinsert the slip in the carrier, closethe same and dispatch the carrier to the charge desir handling chargeaccounts of persons having that particular initial. in a busy departmentstore such mode oi handling is relatively slow and laborious.

It is an object of this invention to produce a carrier, and particularlya carrier for charge slips, which facilitates, siinplies and expeditesthe handling of such carriers at the sorting desk. This object isaccomplished by providing the carrier with a win-:low through which thechargees name can be readily read and with holding means Within thecarrier for holding the charge slip in position both While the carrieris being closed and transported through the carrier system.

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing the carrier loaded ready to be dispatchedthrough the pneumatic tube.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the carrier with the door open and in positionto receive the charge slip.

Figs. 3 and 4.- are sections along the lines il-i and l--ll of Figs. land 2, respectively.

My carrier comprises an outer cylindrical shell i having an opening 2therein and an inner cylindrical shell il having an opening d therein.The inner shell is rotatably mounted Within outer shell in aconventional manner so that relative rotation of inner shell 3 withinouter shell l closes opening 2, Fig. 1, or opens the same when openings2 and Il coincide, Fig. 2. The carrier is provided at each end with feltbuffers E and E fixed respectively to outer shell l and inner shellThus, by grasping buffers 5 and il and rotating one while holding theother, inner shell 3 can be rotated to open opening 2 to permitinsertion of the charge slip or whatever else is being transported inthe carrier.

Shells i and 3 are preferably made oi metal or other opaque material.

Shell t is provided with a window opening ll which is closed with atransparent closure or window 'l preferably oi transparent plasticmaterial. Closure 'l fits within inner shell 3 and is held in place bymeans of lingers 8 which are F other to close the carrier, Figs. 1 and3.

struck out of shell 3 and overlap the longitudinal edges of closure l,as shown. Since window iis inade of resilient thermoplastic material andcurved to the cylindrical contour of shell 3, it is not necessary, butis preferable, for lingers 8 to overlap closure i'. The overlappingportion of nngers 8 preferably have a slight clearance as at with theinside face of Window l for purposes described below.

Since the charge slip lil is folded and inserted in the carrier throughopening 2 in outer shell i and opening Il in inner shell 3 when thecarrier is ope that is, when openings 2 and l coincide, it is necessaryto rotate the shells relative to each This relative rotation of theinner and outer shells will displace the charge slip and, further, thecharge slip must also remain in place while traveling through thecarrier system. Therefore, I have placed a stop IZ in the form of asemi-circular metal strip which has its ends secured to the inside ofshell 3 as at I3 and Ill. While the carrier is open the credit slip, orwhatever other type of readable material is being transported, isinserted into the carrier with one edge l5 of the credit slip in Contactor held in the corner formed by the stop l2 and the inside face of theshell 2 adjacent window l. The other end of the charge slip can beengaged in clearance 9 between lip 8 and the transparent Window l, Figs.3 and 4. If one edge of the slip is not interengaged with lugs stop l2will hold the slip in place and prevent the same from turning while thecarrier is being closed. Charge slip lil, of course, is positioned inthe carrier with the customers name, as shown in Fig. l, against thetransparent window 'l so that it can be readily read without any needfor opening the carrier.

When the charge slip Iii is positioned within inner shell 3 it is curvedand naturally tends to straighten out. However, the slip is longer thanopening d in shell 3 and therefore the ends of the slip project underthe ends I5 of shell 3 which maintains the charge slip curved and undertension. Stop l2 also cooperates with the windowed portion 'l of shell 3to maintain slip I@ in position. Hence, in actual practice theinterengageinent of one edge of the slip in clearance 9 under lip 8 isnot at all necessary and for the most part the carrier will be usedwithout engaging the slip under lip 8.

I claim:

1. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system comprising inner and outerrelatively rotatable shells each having an opening through the Wall 3thereof adapted to coincide in one position oi the shells whereby anarticle having a legend thereon may be passed through said openings andinserted within said inner shell, a second opening through the wall ofsaid inner shell y spaced circumferentially from said other opening insaid inner shell, said second opening coinciding with the opening in theouter shell and forming a window exposing the interior of said innershell when the carrier shells are rotated to closed position, and atransparent closure for said second opening whereby when said carrier isclosed the legend on said article therein can be read through saidtransparency.

2. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system comprising inner and outerrelatively rotatable shells each having an opening through the Wallthereof, said openings coinciding when the carrier is open to permitaccess to the interior of said carrier and said openings being offsetwhen the carrier is closed, a second opening through the wall of saidinner shell communicating with and exposing the interior of said innershell, and a transparent closure on said inner shell for said secondopening, said second opening being spaced circumferentially from thefirst opening in said inner shell and adapted to coincide with theopening in the outer shell when the carrier is closed, said secondopening in said inner shell forming a window of substantial size in saidinner shell whereby an article having a legend thereon can be placedwithin the inner shell with the legend toward said transparent closurewhere it can be read when the carrier is closed.

3. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system comprising inner and outerrelatively rotatable shells each having an opening therein, saidopenings coinciding when the carrier is open to permit access to theinterior of said carrier and said openings being olset when the carrieris closed, a second opening in said inner shell, and a transparentclosure therefor, said second opening being spaced circumferentiallyfrom the rst open ing in said inner shell and adapted to coincide withthe opening in the outer shell when the carrier is closed, a stoppositioned in said inner shell between the two openings whereby anarticle having a legend thereon can be placed within the carrier againstsaid stop and with the legend toward said transparent closure while thecarrier is open and where it can be read when the carrier is closed,said stop serving to hold the article in said position while the shellsare rotated relatively to each other to close said carrier.

4. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system comprising inner and outerrelatively rotatable shells each having an opening therein, saidopenings coinciding When the carrier is open to permit access to theinterior of said carrier and said openings being offset when the carrieris closed, a second opening in said inner shell, a transparent closureon said inner shell, said second opening being spaced circumferentiallyfrom the first opening in said inner shell and adapted to coincide withthe opening in the outer shell when the carrier is closed whereby anarticle having a legend thereon can be placed within the carrier withthe legend toward said transparent closurel where it can be read whenthe carrier is closed, and means within the inner shell for holding saidarticle within the inner shell with the legend toward said windowWhereby the article will be thus held in position during the closing andtransporting of said carrier.

WESLEY F. GROVER.

REFERENCES CITED Name Date Underwood et al. Feb. 21, 1933 Number

